Drive-By Truckers, Lydia Loveless
Drive-By Truckers—whose badass name matches their bad-ass Southern alt-country sound—are making a can’t-miss stop in Portland the same day the legends drop their 11th studio album, American Band. If you don’t know DBT yet, hop on Spotify and stream perhaps my favorite album, The Dirty South. They’ll be here for two shows, so you’ve got no excuse to miss it. DOUG BROWN Also read our story on Lydia Loveless.
Wonder Ballroom, 9pm, $25-28

Lez Stand-Up: Pumpkin Spice Edition
I fucking love Lez Stand Up. Not only is it one of the city’s absolute best queer-friendly comedy showcases, it’s one of the city’s best comedy shows, full stop. There’s a reason the ladies of Lez Stand Up sell out shows without trying: They’re really fucking funny, and when they fill a room, having people who aren’t straight white dudes on the bill isn’t a tokenizing afterthought. It’s the whole point. Hooray! MEGAN BURBANK
Siren Theater, 8pm, $10

Trevor Noah
The South African comedian takes a break from his hosting duties at The Daily Show to hit the road with his stand-up routine.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 7:30pm, $35-55

Looking for Tiger Lily
Anthony Hudson (AKA Portland's drag treasure Carla Rossi) stars in this one-man show about the traditions of storytelling, using song, dance, drag, and a whole lot of Disney influence, with musical accompaniment by Maria Choban and dancing by the Dolly Pops.
Hollywood Theatre, 7:30pm, $15

Hot Tears, Erica Freas, Anna Vo
Hot Tears, the project of former Songs for Moms member Molly Fischer, makes slow building epics that defy genre. Its 2014 debut The Chorus mixes punk chord progressions with chamber-folk intimacy, doom metal guitar walls, and bedroom pop-inspired refrains to create a hypnotic album that begs for repeated, focused listens. On Hot Tears’ new 7-inch, Stronger Lady, Fischer builds on the foundation The Chorus established, adding more elaborate production elements and melodic sensibilities that seem to somehow nod to both Zola Jesus and Julie Doiron. Tonight’s show, which benefits pro-choice organization Oregon Women’s Campaign School, also features local musician/zinester Anna Vo and Erica Freas of RVIVR, whose sophomore solo album comes out on Don Giovanni next month. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON
In Other Words, 9pm

Weeed, Wanda, Dim Wit
Subtlety never has been—and most likely never will be—a strong suit for a band with a name like Weeed. These Bainbridge Island, Washington, psych-metal stoners named their latest LP Our Guru Brings Us to the Black Master Sabbath, for chrissakes. However, being so straightforward with their influences possibly correlates with their appeal. Like the Matthew McConaughey of psychedelic metal bands, they are just L-I-V-I-N, and there's nothing more to it. CAMERON CROWELL
Bunk Bar, 9pm, $7

Jonathan Safran Foer
The acclaimed author of Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close comes to Powell's at Cedar Hills Crossing to read from his new novel, Here I Am.
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 7pm

Fanno Creek, Bevelers, Nathan Baumgartner, Sam Adams
Fanno Creek and Bevelers celebrate the release of their Banana Stand / PALS Clubhouse live split. Sam Adams and Nathan Baumgartner provide support with solo sets.
Alberta Street Pub, 8:30pm, $7

Reigning Sound, The Tripwires, Hollow Sidewalks
Not all rock 'n' roll can be as evergreen as the warm, in-the-pocket garage jangle of Greg Cartwright's Reigning Sound. Catch the Memphis/Asheville group and their killer, R&B-informed sound as they play chestnuts from their expansive discography. NED LANNAMANN
Dante's, 9pm, $15

Caleb Klauder, Honey Don't
I don't care if you don't like country music: the Caleb Klauder Country Band is the best live band in Portland. When this crack team of ace players lets 'er rip, the dance floor explodes in a hullabaloo of twangin', twistin', good old-fashioned American music. NED LANNAMANN
Doug Fir, 9pm, $13-15

National Geographic Live—Exploring Mars
NASA mechanical engineer Kobie Boykins helped design the Mars rovers Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. Join him tonight for a look at what these rovers have discovered on the red planet.
Newmark Theatre, 7:30pm, $20-40

Manatee Commune, Maiah Manser, Calm Candy
My heart was crushed to learn that there are zero actual manatees involved in Manatee Commune and, further, that it's not any kind of commune! It's just one guy! Named Grant L'Kayl Eadie (pretty cool name, actually). However, setting aside that instant bias, I was instantly swept up by Manatee Commune's oneiric tunes. They stop just short of ambient, with subtle beats gently guiding gorgeously kaleidoscopic soundscapes. This could in fact be music for manatees, or any other peaceful and huggable creature of nature and mystery. KATIE ALLISON
Mississippi Studios, 9pm, $10-12

The Come Inside Festival of Sex & Culture
When Portland theater artist Eleanor O’Brien started touring last year with Lust and Marriage, her play about resisting bed death after marriage, she was so excited by the new work she encountered from fellow artists on the road that she decided to curate her own local festival of sex-positive theater. While other cities already have well-established, similarly focused programs—O’Brien cites the Seattle Erotic Art Festival—she notes that Portland does not, despite seeming like a community that would be receptive to the idea. So she created her own: Come Inside, a festival of sex and culture, featuring Shirley Gnome (“almost pure entertainment,” in O’Brien’s words), O’Brien’s own show, GGG: Dominatrix for Dummies, San Francisco’s Bawdy Storytelling, and slew of other performances that examine various aspects of queerness, gender identity, sex work, and sex education. MEGAN BURBANK
Click here for a full list of performances and showtimes.
Sept 28-Oct 2, The Headwaters Theatre, various times

The Thing
John Carpenter’s 1982 classic, starring a very hairy Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, and an exploding dog head. Well, it doesn’t so much explode as it peels back like a self-opening banana, revealing a glistening, snarling Lovecraftian horror full of snaking tubes and hissing malevolence. This is only the fourth- or fifth-most horrifying and unnerving thing in the film, which is a tidal wave of unrelenting paranoia so effective it took most people a good decade-plus to get over their initial revulsion to (correctly) rate it as one of the best horror films ever made.
Academy Theater, 2pm, 9:20pm, $2-4

Different Trains: Third Angle
The Third Angle Ensemble is no stranger to the work of Steve Reich. They've been performing pieces written by the now-80-year-old composer frequently, including a jaw-dropping presentation of "Drumming" featuring members of So Percussion. To start off their new season, the group highlights Reich's string quartets with an emphasis on "Different Trains," a three-movement work composed in 1988 and inspired in part by the Holocaust Trains that transported Jews during World War II. The piece combines the chugging drive of strings with stray snippets of recorded dialogue that follow a similarly hypnotic rhythmic pattern. Rounding out the program on these two nights will be performances of Triple Quartet and WTC 9/11, Reich's elegy to the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. ROBERT HAM
Oregon Rail Heritage Center, 7:30pm, $35